The Ranch

"Bitter" Rivals (1)

After the sleepover, Tih has been hanging out with members of his group more often, taking up a lot of his previously free time. Though, compared to others, he's still very free.

Right now, he's taking a swim in Lake Phil, purely using the only swimming method he knows, the dolphin kick. He'd discovered something at the very bottom of the lake but he's already put that in the back of his mind.

Feeling a little hungry, he follows the rapids downstream, coming out north of the central market. Walking south, the wind pressure created by his speed dries the clothes he kept on while swimming.

He finds a gelato shop, pointing to a pretty color he hasn't tried before before handing the vendor Alphonse's ID card.

The man scans the card, transmitting an insignificant amount out compared to the number that's in there.

Tih spoons the purple and orange gelato into his mouth as he walks around observing the new people mixed in with the ones he's already seen before. Even after spending half a year on the island, Tih still sees new soldiers every day. The new ones are observed and stored in his head, along with the rest of the recorded population in the island.

While eating, he crosses paths with a busy Phillip, who quickly greets him before rushing off, but not before wasting time to ruffle Tih's fluffy hair. It's just too inviting to pass up, even if he is in a hurry.

Not a moment after Phillip disappears into the crowd, a voice asks him," Are you the famous Tih I've heard so much about?" The slightly flirtatious voice is similar in manner to when he first met Phillip.

Tih turns to see a face that's been recorded in the market, but one he hasn't talked to before.

A questioning aura on an expressionless face should be impossible, but that's the feeling the man receives when looking into the boy's clear blue eyes.

The man bends his knees," Nice to meet you Tih. Call me Casanova...or, you can't, if I recall correctly?"

Tih stares in silence. His questioning aura has disappeared. Now it's neutral.

Casanova gives off a gentlemanly aura," I would like it if we could get to know each other better, what do you say?"

A confused  aura appears.

Doesn't understand flirting, noted. " Are you hungry?"

Tih glances at the empty gelato cup. It wasn't nearly enough to fill him after swimming such a distance. He nods.

Cute. Casanova can see why Phillip, that brat, boasts about him so much. He brings Tih to the outskirts of the market. On the way, Tih recalls everything he knows about the man.

He remembers Phillip talking about Casanova. That he was Sinclair's other student and that he didn't like Casanova. That's about all the info he has on the stranger.

He follows the stranger into a small shop at the very edge of the market, to the northeast. The area is desolate since there isn't much reason for anyone to enter from the topside of the marketplace which is bordering the river. Unless you're Tih.

Casanova enters and immediately calls out," The usual!"

"For two?" A voice asks from the back.

"You know it." He answers back. He turns to Tih," Where shall we sit?" He let's Tih choose, not that there's many options. It mostly depends on what wall you want to face.

Tih stares back, not used to making his own decisions.

"Here, then." Casanova guides Tih to a chair, sliding it back for him. He pushes Tih in before walking around and sitting across the tiny square-shaped table. The wooden chair squeaks and he leans his weight into it.

Tih observes a closer view of the man. His two defining features would be his messy light brown hair and deep dimples that show when he smiles. So they're almost always showing, as he has a perpetual soft smile on his lips, making him easy to talk to, if one talks.

"Is Phillip a good friend?" He brings up a yes or no question.

~~~~~

Frieeend...? Yes.

~~~~~

Tih nods.

"Mm, that's good. He tends to talk about you a lot. I don't think he realizes exactly how much...or how annoying it gets." He says the last part through gritted teeth, but his smile remains, even growing bigger, pushing up the skin under his eyes, creating crescents.

"Have you met our instructor yet?" Casanova wonders, thinking about something.

Tih nods.

"Has that br- has Phillip called him master?"

Tih nods.

"So he's already..." Casanova mumbles.

Two plates of food clink as they hit the table. Two hands retract from underneath and the waiter who's also the chef walks away.

"Go ahead and eat. It's not poisoned, trust me." He crosses his heart with his finger.

Tih looks at the bowl of spaghetti. He picks up a fork and twirls it with both hands like how Kai taught him. Unbeknownst to Tih, Kai isn't exactly proficient in eating pasta either, resulting in using both the hands and Tih thinking it's normal.

Casanova watches this cute scene with amusement. He comments out of nowhere," It seems Phillip likes you very much. I guess you could call it a genuine friendship?"

He taps his fork on the edge of the bowl whilst thinking," See, he doesn't have a lot of friends, to be exact, none at all... Aside from you of course."

Tih looks at Casanova with eyes that can stare into a man's soul, but the feeling is retracted because of the pasta being slurped into his mouth. It seems he's given up on the previous method.

Although Tih hasn't asked anything, a response comes out unintentionally," No I'm not his friend..." He pauses, wonder why that came out, but continues anyway," I'm what he'd refer to as a rival, but that dense brat doesn't even realize what we're fighting over."

Casanova elegantly twirls some pasta. Tih watches and copies, finding the one-handed method a lot more effective.

Casanova chuckles then sighs," Recently, he's been a little more...rushed than usual. I launched a new project and it's going pretty well. I wonder if he'll get desperate soon." The last sentence was said to himself with a sigh.

"Mm, anyways, he's been a little ditzy lately and it might be good for him to have an anchor. He seemed to be more open about his "appreciation" for teacher after meeting you, not that the man has noticed...nor has the brat realized his own feelings."

"Anyways, it's gone on for long enough. My fighting spirit withered after the first year, yet those two have to drag it out for five. It was fun the first few years, but I'm really getting tired of playing pretend rival."

Casanova shows a tired and lazy expression, but perks up when looking at this potential golden treasure in front of him," So help me out, yes? For his sake. You are his friend right? So you want the best for him."

Tih listened to a whole monologue, not understanding half of it. He nods obediently, not aware of what he's agreeing to.

"Good good. It's about time to wrap this dog blooded story. If you're finished, let's go now." With an empty plate of food, Tih is dragged away.

Phillip: then:flirtatious Now:dense

Casanova: then:flirtatious Now:tired

It seems a certain teacher has a type cough-